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STATUE 



JOSIAH QUINCY. 



DEDICATIO]^^ CEREM0:P^IES, 



OCTOBER 11, 1879. 



Itt^ Hr^limmarg ^roa^biitgs. 




City Document No. 115. 



PRINTED BY ORDER OF THE CITY COUNCIL. 

1879. 



1^30 

" Gil 



o^ 



31 




PRESS or 

*ROCKWELL&^ 



3Cf 2.(^ / 
^03 



CITY OF bosto:n^ 



In Board of Aldermen, October 13, 1879. 
Ordered, That the oration of His Honor the Mayor, 
delivered at the dedication of the Statue of Josiah Quincy, 
together with the presentation address of Alderman Tucker, 
and such other documents relating to the subject as may be 
of interest, be printed as a city document, under the direc- 
tion of the Committee on Printing ; and that five hundred 
extra copies be printed. 



Read twice, and passed. Sent down for concurrence. 
October 23, came up, concurred. Approved by the Mayor 
October 25, 1879. 

Attest : 

S. F. McCLEARY, 

City Clerk. 



PRELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS. 



At a meeting of the Board of Aldermen, July 12, 1875, the 
following communication was received from the Mayor : — 

To the Board of Aldermen of the City of Boston: — 

Gentlemen, — In 1861 the city received, under the will 
of Jonathan Phillips, the sum of $20,000, the income from 
which was to be expended in adorning and embellishing the 
streets and public places. In accepting the bequest, the 
City Council authorized the Board of Aldermen, with the 
approval of the Mayor, to expend the income in accordance 
with the terms of the trust. No expenditure has been made 
from the income up to this time, and the amount subject to 
the order of your Board on the first of May last was $18,160, 
a sum sufficiently large to make it proper for you to consider 
the manner in which the wishes of the testator shall be 
executed. Although the City Government can, under the 
terms of the will, spend the money annually for adornments 
of a temporary character, it would seem to be more in 
accordance with the spirit of the trust to invest it only in 
permanent works of art or beauty ; and this I conceive to 
have been the object of those who have preceded us allow- 
ing the fund to accumulate until it could be expended in a 
manner to do honor to the generosity of the founder. In 
calling your attention to the subject at this time, permit me 
to suggest that this money affords an opportunity for carry- 
ing out a proposition which has been frequently made, 
namely, to erect a statue in front of the City Hall, on the 



6 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

risfht of the entrance from School street. Amons' those who 
have been mentioned as deserving subjects for such com- 
memoration, Josiah Quincy stands foremost in the extent and 
value of services rendered this municipality ; and there would 
be a special fitness in using this money for the purpose of 
doino; him honor. 

SAMUEL C. COBB, 

Mayor. 

Referred, on motion of Alderman Prescott, to a special 
committee, consisting of Aldermen Prescott, Pope, and 
Viles. 

At a meeting of the Board of Aldermen, October 18, 1875, 
Alderman Prescott submitted the following report : — 

The Special Committee of the Board of Aldermen, to whom 
was referred the communication from His Honor the Mayor 
in relation to the expenditure of the income from the bequest 
of Jonathan Phillips, for adorning and embellishing the 
streets and public places in this city, having carefully 
considered the subject, beg leave to submit the following 
report : — 

It appears, from the language used in making the bequest, 
that the purpose of the testator was to haA^e the income ex- 
pended annually ; but as this has not been done, we are called 
upon to consider the use to which it would be proper to apply 
the fund which has been allowed to accumulate during the 
past fourteen years, and which now amounts to something 
over $18,000. 

In his communication the Mayor suggests that it should be 
used to procure a Statue of Josiah Quincy, the second Mayor 
of this city, to be located in front of the City Hall. The 
committee have conferred with some of the leading citizens 
of Boston, and find that the suggestion is generally received 



PKELIMINARY PROCEEDINGS. 7 

with favor. If the money is to be used for the purpose of 
erecting a statue, there appears to he but one opinion as to 
the propriety of selecting Josiah Quincy, whose valuable 
services in organizing our municipal government will always 
be gratefully remembered by the citizens of Boston, and 
whose example, as an able, energetic, and upright magistrate, 
will ever continue to exert a powerful influence upon our 
municipal councils. 

A question was raised by one of the gentlemen whom the 
committee consulted, and whose opinion is entitled to great 
weight, as to the propriety of using this money for the pur- 
pose of erecting any statue ; but the City Solicitor decides 
that its use for such a purpose would not conflict with the 
terms of the trust. It does not appear that the testator had 
any very definite ideas as to the manner in which the income 
should be expended. He confided largely in the discretion 
of the City Cxovernment. An annual expenditure would, of 
course, preclude the erection of statues, on account of the 
smallness of the sum ; but, in view of the fact that the income 
has been allowed to accumulate until it amounts to a consider- 
able sum, there would seem to be no more appropriate way 
of perpetuating the generosity of the fouiMer of the trust than 
by adopting the Mayor's suggestion. 

The committee have made some inquiries in regard to the 
cost of a bronze statue, with a suitable pedestal, and find 
that the sum now subject to the order of Board is ample. 
They would, therefore, respectfully recommend the passage 
of the accompanying order : — 

Ordered, That His Honor the Mayor, with three members 
of this Board, be a special committee with authority to con- 
tract for the delivery to this city of a bronze Statue of Josiah 
Quincy, second Mayor of Boston ; and with authorit}' also 
to contract for the construction of a suitable pedestal for said 
statue, to be located in front of the City Hall ; the cost of 



8 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

the statue and pedestal not to exceed the sum of eighteen 
thousand dollars. 

October 25th the order was amended by adding, " said 
sum to be paid from the income of the Phillips-street Fund, 
held by the Auditor of Accounts," .and passed as amended. 

Aldermen Charles J. Prescott, A. O. Bigelow, and Eoland 
Worthington were appointed on the committee. 

Soon after its appointment this committee met, and 
authorized its chairman to apply to William W. Story, of 
Rome, and Thomas Ball; of Florence, for models of a Statue 
of Quincy, offering five hundred dollars to the artist whose 
design should not be accepted. 

At a meeting of the Board of Aldermen, January 10, 1876, 
Alderman Bigelow offered the following : — 

'"Ordered, That his Honor the Mayor, with Aldermen , 

be appointed to take charge of the erection of the proposed 
Statue of Josiah Quincy, with all the authority conferred 
by an order of the Board of Aldermen passed October 26, 
1875." 

Read twice and passed ; and Aldermen A. O. Bigelow, 
John T. Clark, and Thomas J. Whidden were appointed on 
the committee. 

In 1876 models were received from the artists above 
named. Several gentlemen interested in art matters, 
together with the members of the Quincy family, were 
invited to inspect the models, and advise the committee 
as to their respective merits. 

The verdict of the art critics was in favor of the model 
submitted by Mr. Story, while the Quincy family decided in 
favor of that made by Mr. Ball. 

The committee decided to accept Mr. Ball's design, and a 
contract Avas therefore made with him to furnish a statue of 
heroic size, for the sum of twelve thousand dollars in gold. 



PKELIMINARY PKOCEEDINGS. 9 

In 1877 no committee was appointed, nor an}' further 
action taken. 

At a meeting of the Board of Aldermen September 27, 

1878, Alderman Whidden offered the following : — 
''Ordered, That his Honor the Mayor, with Aldermen , 

be appointed to have charge of the erection of the Statue 
of Josiah Quincy, under, the contract made with Thomas 
Ball." 

Read twice and passed ; and Aldermen Thomas J. Whid- 
den, John P. Spaulding, and Lewis C. Whiton were ap- 
pointed on the committee. 

In 1878 Mr. Ball was requested to furnish a design for a 
pedestal, which he did, and offered to superintend the con- 
struction of a pedestal of Italian marble, which he recom- 
mended as suitable for the purpose. This offer was accepted, 
and Mr. Ball was requested to construct a pedestal, accord- 
ing to his design, at a cost of eight hundred dollars. 

At a meeting of the Board of Aldermen February 3, 1879, 
an order was passed similar in terms to the above order 
passed September 27, 1878, and Aldermen Joseph A. 
Tucker, Solomon B. Stebbins, and Daniel D. Kelly were 
appointed on the committee. 

At a meeting of the Board of Aldermen, September 1, 

1879, Alderman Tucker offered the following : — 

" Ordered, That the Committee of the Board of Aldermen 
on the Erection of the Statue to Josiah Quincy, and the 
Joint Committee in charge of the Statue of Abraham Lincoln, 
acting together, be authorized to make suitable arrange- 
ments for the dedication of both of said structures on the 
17th of September, 1879, — the expense attending the same, 
not exceeding five thousand dollars, to be charged to the 
appropriation for incidentals." 

Read twice and passed. 

September 15, 1879, on motion of Alderman Slade, the 



10 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

Board of Aldermen reconsidered the above order ; and, 
after discussion, on motion of Alderman Kelly, the subject 
was indefinitely postponed. 

September 25, 1<S79, the Common Council passed the fol- 
lowing : — 

" Ordered, That the Committee of the Board of Aldermen 
on the Erection of the Statue of Josiah Quincy, and the 
Joint Special Committee in charge of the Statue Conmiemo- 
rating Emancipation, acting together, be authorized to make 
suitable arrano-ements for the dedication of both of said 
statues, — the expense attending the same, not exceeding 
one thousand dollars, to be charged to the appropriation for 
incidentals." 

September 29 the order was passed in concurrence by the 
Board of Aldermen. 

The Joint Special Committee in charge of the Statue Com- 
memorating Emancipation was appointed as follows : — 

June 3, 1879, Aldermen Charles H. B. Breck, Daniel D. 
Kelly, and Solomon B Stebbins : 

June 5, 1879, Councilmen Henry W. Swift of Ward 9, 
Nathan Sawyer of Ward 18, Paul H. Kendricken of AVard 
20, Oscar B. Mowry of Ward 11, and Benjamin F. Anthony 
of Ward 19. 

October 9, 1879, on motion of Mr. Swift it was 

" Ordered, That the use of the Common Coimcil Chamber 
be allowed on Saturday next for the services of dedicating 
the Statue of Josiah Quincy, if the weather be unfavorable 
for conducting the services in the open air." 



DESCRIPTION 



QUIN'CY STATUE 



The total height of the monument is eighteen feet seven 
inches. The base consists of a step and block of Qiiincy 
o;ranite two feet nine inches hioh and seven feet eio^ht inches 
square at the base. The pedestal and die, which are of 
Italian marble, give seven feet and ten inches more in 
height, and the die is four feet square. The die weighs 
seven tons, and the pedestal blocks about five tons each. 
The pedestal and die correspond in general design and size 
with those on which the figure of Franklin stands on the 
opposite side of the entrance to the City Hall, and a circular 
walk of concrete has been laid around the Statue, with a 
short walk connecting it with the paved approach to the 
hall entrance, this feature also corresponding with the sur- 
roundings of the Franklin statue. On the front of the die, 
facing School street, is a bronze plate, bearing the following 
inscription, in raised letters : — 



JOSIAH QUINCY. 

I 772-1 854. 

MASSACHUSETTS SENATE, 1804, 

CONGRESS, 1805-1813. 

JUDGE OF MUNICIPAL COURT, 1822. 

MAYOR OF BOSTON, 1823-1828. 

PRESIDENT OF HARVARD UNIVERSITY, 1829-1845. 



12 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUIXCY. 

On the side of the die facing the central walk is the follow- 
ing inscription, on a bronze plate : — 





ERECTED 


^. D 1879 




FROM 


FUNDS 


BEQUEATHED 


TO 


THE 


CITY 


OF BOSTON 




JONATHAN 


PHILLIPS. 



The other sides of the die are plain. 

On the base block of the statue, facing the central w^alk, 
is inscribed, "Thomas Ball, Sc, 1878 ;" and on the reverse 
side of the l)lock the founders' inscription, "Gegossen durch 
FERD. MILLER & Sohne, Miinchen, 1879." 

The figure is, as will be seen, much above life size, and is 
thus made the more imposing. It is a noble work of art, 
and most creditable to the sculptor, Thomas Ball. The 
figure stands erect, with the weight posed on the right 
foot, the other foot being slightly advanced. Over the 
left shoulder is carelessly thrown a cloak, which appears to 
have slipped from the right shoulder, and the edge, passing 
beneath the right arm, is gathered up in front and held in 
the left hand, from which it hangs in heavy, bronze folds, 
while the right hand falls naturally by the side. This outer 
garment nearly conceals the lower part of the figure, and 
gives the opportunity for the classic disposition of drapery 
which most sculptors consider requisite to the best artistic 
eflfect. The disposition of the cloak is, however, such as to 
leave the outlines of the upper part of the figure clearly 
expressed beneath a coat closely buttoned, above which 
protrudes the old-fashioned, elaborated frill of the shirt 
front. The head is turned slightly to the right, and the 



DESCRIPTION. 13 

pose as a whole is easy and most dignified and impressive. 
The countenance is said, by those i)est qualified to judge, 
to be an excellent likeness of the original. The light, brassy 
hue of the bronze, and its gloss, will be softened by time, — 
the bronze growing darker, and its gloss entirely disappear- 
ing. This change will favorably affect the lines of the figure, 
which will become less stifl'and obtrusive, and the expression 
of the countenance will become more lifelike. 

The work of erecting the monument was done under the 
direction of Mr. Clough, the City Architect, by ex- Alderman 
Thomas J. Whidden. 

The cost of placing the Statue on the pedestal was defrayed 
by the artist. The cost of the pedestal, in Italy, was $800 ; 
its freight and insurance, $161.92. The front tablet cost 
$125, and tlie side tablet probably the same amount. The 
cost of foundation, filling, and grading around the same, 
providing two granite plinth blocks or sub-bases, and erect- 
ing the marble pedestal, was $933.48. $12,000 was paid 
for the Statue, making the aggregate of expenditure exceed 
$14,000, — defrayed by the Phillips Fund. 



THE DEDICATION EXERCISES. 



On Saturday, October 11, 1879, the dedicatory exercises 
were held in tlie Common Council Chamber, beginning at 
one o'clock. Arrangements had been made for the services 
about the Statue in the City Hall yard, but the uncertain state 
of th^ weather made it prudent to hold the exercises within 
doors. The Statue was unveiled by the City Architect, with- 
out ceremony, before several hundred people, gathered in 
School street and upon the City Hall green, at a few min- 
utes before one o'clock. 

Before the hour named for the exercises a large number 
of the invited guests assembled in the Mayor's office. The 
Quincy family was represented by ex-Mayor Josiah Quincy, 
Josiah P. Quincy, Esq., Gen. Samuel M. Quincy^ Edmund 
Quincy, Esq., and Dr. Henry P. Quincy. There was also 
present Mr. William Hayden, who is nearly ninety years of 
age, and is the sole surviviug representative of Mr. Quincy's 
administration, having served as Auditor.^ The four vet- 



' When, in the year 1823, Mr. Quincy entered upon his duties as Mayor of the City 
of Boston, his eager and searching investigation found, as among the principal reforms 
necessary to be made, the loose and irregular manner in which the money concerns 
had been conducted. In the second year of his administration, and as soon as more 
pressing atiairs had been arranged, he set himself about to devise some fixed and 
regular mode of managing the financial affairs of the city. He wrote, with his own 
hand, the ordinance establishing the office of Auditor of Accounts, and instituting a 
system of finance which, tlirough all the fluctuations of time and population, lias 
amply answered its intended purposes ever since. Under the provisions of that ordi- 
nance Mr. William ITaydcn was elected- the first Auditor of Accounts of the City of 
Boston, and continued to hold tlie office for nearly seventeen years. He returned tlie 
following answer to the invitation of the committee : — 



16 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

erans of Qiiincy market — Messrs. Harmon Curtis, Nathan 
bobbins, Jonathan Fletcher, and Ebenezer Holden, who 
have been engaged in business there ever since the market 
was erected — were also among the invited guests present, 
as was Mr. Moses Wilharas, who was a member of the Com- 
mon Council in 1822, and took an active interest in the pros- 
perity of the market. The committees having had charge 
of the erection of statnes in former City Governments came 
in resi)onse to invitations ; and among the invited guests 
who accepted were the Hon. Robert C. Winthrop, Hon. 
Charles Francis Adams, ex-Mayor Samuel C. Cobb, ex- 
Mayor Alexander H. Rice, Hon. Josiah G. Abbott, Gen. 
N. P. Bauks, Rev. Dr. Blagden, Gen. A. P. Martin, Rev. 

"Malden, Octobers, 1879. 
His Honor Frederick O. Prince, Mayor of the City of Boston : — 

Dear Sir, — I have the honor to acknowledge receipt of au invitation of your com- 
mittee of the City Council of Boston, to attend the ceremonies incident to the dedica- 
tion of the Statue of Josiah Quincy, which invitation I thankfully accept, and shall 
surely be present at the time assigned, if the weather andthe infirmities of old age do 
not interfere to prevent. 

Of all the executive officers holding oificc under the City Council during the mayor- 
alty of Mr. Quincy I am now the sole survivor, and it will be one among the many 
reasons I have to be thankful to Divine Providence if I am permitted to participate 
in the honors now to be paid to the memory of that illustrious citizen and magistrate. 

I have treasured, as among the happiest incidents of my long life, my official con- 
nection Avith Mr. Quincy. The personal friendship which he was so kind as to bestow 
upon me, and the constant and cordial good counsel and advice which I received from 
him, have been of continuous and inestimable advantage to me. In those eiirly days 
he was 'my guide, philosopher, and friend.' I am happy to be allowed to bear this 
testimony, being the only one of his subordinate municipal officers here on earth to 
speak of him. 

I will here repeat, with a feeling which the lapse of time has only increased, some 
closing remarks made by me on another occasion, in regard to my connection with 
Mr. Quincy: ' I was close to him — in daily contact with him — during nearly the 
whole of his official career in the mayoralty. I was an admiring witness of his single- 
hearted devotion, his unwearied assiduity, and his indomitable energy in the service 
of the city. I honor and reverence the name and the memory of .Josiah Quincy.' 

With many thanks to your committee for the kindness of their invitation, I sub- 
scribe myself, Mr. Mayor, respectfully. 

Your friend and servant, 

William Hayden." 



DEDICATION EXERCISES. 17 

R. C. Waterston, George William Phillips, Eev. J. P. Bod- 
fish, Mr. Thomas Ball, the sculptor, and past members of 
both branches of the City Government. 

At a few minutes before one o'clock the invited guests, 
led by the Mayor and Honorable Josiah Quincy, proceeded 
to the Common Council Chamber. 

At one o'clock the exercises began with a voluntary by 
the Germania Band. 

Mayor Prince presented Rev. Dr. S. K. Lothrop, who 
offered the followino; 



PRAYER. 

Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, Thou art our 
CtocI, and we will praise Thee ; our fathers' God, and 
we will magnify Thy name. We thank Thee for this 
fair dwelling-place, which has come to us by inheri- 
tance. We recognize and adore that gracious provi- 
dence which, through various trials and troubles, and 
the faithful efforts and sacrifices of successive gen- 
erations, established our fathers in this land, and 
made them to dwell therein in safety, liberty, and 
independence. We recognize and adore that provi- 
dence which has been rich in tokens of wisdom, good- 
ness and mercy towards this city, from its earliest 
foundation until now, when it has become a city set 
on a hill, the light whereof cannot be hid, — a large, 
growing, prosperous, orderly Christian city, full of 
the institutions and influences of religion, education, 



18 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

learning, art, science, philanthropy, commercial pros- 
perity and enterprise, abounding in all things that 
tend to adoi-n and elevate life. Lamenting the sins 
that still prevail, we thank Thee for the general intel- 
ligence and honorable character which have com- 
monly marked our people, and especially we praise 
Thee for all the good, noble and distinguished men, 
whom from time to time Thou hast raised up to be 
guides and leaders of public thought and action, and 
whose example and instructions in every department 
of life made them a blessing and a benefit to their 
generations, so that their names come down to us in 
honored remembrance. 

We thank Thee especially for the life, character, 
and services of him to whose honor and memory we 
here and now gratefully erect this Statue. O God! 
let Thy blessing rest upon this work of our hands and 
expression of our hearts. Let this Statue abide for 
long years and successive generations, and while it 
presents to us who remember him, and will ever pre- 
sent to those who come after us, a clear and striking 
delineation of his form and person, may it ever and 
always speak to us, and to the successive generations 
as they pass, of his worth, and virtues, and usefulness ; 
of his industry in improving every talent entrusted, 
every opportunity offered to him ; of his integrity ever 
unimpeached, his honor unstained, his fidelity to 



DEDICATION EXERCISES. 19 

every trust; of the simplicity, purity, patriotism and 
piety that marked, pervaded and imbued his charac- 
ter and conduct in all the scenes and largely varied 
offices and responsibilities which he was called to 
assume in his long and useful life; and thus, O God, 
grant that his memory may abide, and enshrined here 
on this spot, may it be an incentive to all to imitate 
him in all social, civil, patriotic and Christian 
duty. 

Let Thj^ blessing, O God, rest upon the present 
Chief Magistrate of our city, and upon all associated 
with him in the management of our municipal affairs, 
that they may be faithful to their trusts, and promote 
in all directions the best interests of our people. 
Let Thy blessing rest upon everything dear and valu- 
able to this community and to our country. Stay 
the strife of parties and pour oil upon the troubled 
waters everywhere. Here among ourselves, and 
everywhere throughout our broad land, in all sec- 
tions of it, let there prevail more and more a spirit 
that shall bind us all together, as one people, in the 
holy fellowship of patriotic duty, and of pure and 
holy living — that righteousness which alone exalteth 
— which we ask to the glory of Thy holy name in 
Christ Jesus, our Lord, ascribing unto Thee everlast- 
ing praises. Amen. 



20 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

Alderman Tucker, chairman of the Statue Committee, 
then presented the Statue to the Mayor, as follows : — 



ALDERMAN TUCKER'S ADDRESS. 

Mr. Mayor, — It becomes my pleasant duty, as a 
representative of the legislative department of the 
City Comicil, to surrender to you this Statue of 
Josiali Quincy, who, in the early history of this jcity, 
made an illustrious record in the position you now 
hold as Mayor of Boston. This duty is rendered 
especially gratifying from -the fact that this Statue 
represents the first fruits of the beneficent spirit 
which actuated our fellow-citizen, Jonathan Phillips, 
when he donated the fund from which its cost is 
defrayed. Mr. Phillips died in 1860, leaving a legacy 
of $20,000 to the City of Boston, providing that the 
income thereof should be expended by the " Board of 
Aldermen, with the approval of the Mayor, to adorn 
and embellish the streets and public places of the 
city; and, for the first time since the bequest was 
made, we are assembled together to witness material 
evidence of the testator's generosity. It is, sir, both 
fortunate and appropriate, that the subject chosen 
should be one whose foresight and wisdom rendered 
him conspicuous in the history of the municipality, 
and who dictated a line of policy which, being pinv 



DEDICATION EXERCISES. 21 

sued by his successors, has not only done much to 
embellish our city, but has also been fruitful in more 
substantial advantages. It is not fitting at this time 
that I should pronounce any encomiums on Josiah 
Quiiicy. Upon you, Mr. Mayor, not more from the 
position you now hold, than by early and intimate 
relations with Mr. Quincy during his life, devolves 
this honorable privilege. But allow me to say that I 
believe it will aflbrd the greatest satisfaction to our 
citizens to see this tribute to the memory of one who 
did so much for the city he governed so well. 

Mayor Prince received the Statue in behalf of the city, 
and pronounced the following Oration, at the conclusion of 
which the benediction was pronounced by Dr. Lothrop, and 
the audience dispersed to music by the Band. 



OR ATI ON, 

BY HIS HONOR 

FREDERICK O. PRINCE, 



Gentlemen of the City Council and Fellow- Cit- 
izens : — 

The Plonorable Jonathan PhiUips, who died in 
1860, gave by his will to the City of Boston, " the 
sum of twenty thousand dollars as a trust fund, the 
income from which shall be annually expended to 
adorn and embellish the streets and public places in 
said city." In accepting the bequest, the City Coun- 
cil directed the Board of Aldermen, with the approval 
of the Mayor, to expend the income of the fund in 
compliance with the terms of the trust. 

This donation was received in 1861, but nothing 
was done in fulfilment of the objects of the testator 
until the year 1875, when my predecessor. Mayor 
Cobb, finding the income of the fund had accumulated 
so largely as to demand and justify some action in 
the direction of the trust, advised the erection of a 
statue in front of City Hall and opposite to that of 



24 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

Franklin. He took the occasion to suggest the fit- 
ness of commemorating by such a monument the mu- 
nicipal and other public services of Josiah Quincy. 
The special committee of the Board of Aldermen, to 
whom was referred the recommendation of His Honor, 
reported that " if the mone}^ is to be used for the pur- 
pose of erecting a statue, there appears to be but one 
opinion as to the propriety of selecting that of Josiah 
Quincy, whose valuable services in organizing our 
municipal government will always be gratefully re- 
membered by the citizens of Boston, and whose 
example, as an able, energetic, and upright magistrate 
will ever continue to exert a powerful influence upon 
our municipal councils." Accompanying the report 
was an order authorizing the erection of a statue of 
this distinguished man. 

I need not say that the action of the Government 
in this matter expressed the sentiments and received 
the hearty approval of our citizens. 

Soon after the passage of the order a contract was 
made for the work with that eminent Boston artist, 
Thomas Ball. 

It now stands before you. There may be differ- 
ences of opinion, resulting from differences in aesthetic 
tastes and judgment, touching the artistic merits of 
this statue. We rarely find in art-criticism entire 
concordance; but I think it will be generally regarded 



ORATION. 25 

as a faithful, successful, and elegant representation of 
him we honor to-day. If I am right in this we have 
fulfilled the testamentary desires of our munificent 
benefactor, for the image of one so much respected 
and beloved will assuredly " adorn and embellish " 
this " public place of the city." 

Mr. Quincy was so well known to the citizens of 
Boston, he was before them so many years of his 
long and useful life, and filled so many important 
ofiices, that it seems unnecessary and superfluous for 
me, even were I fitted for the grateful task, to portray 
at length his character, or recite his many public ser- 
vices. It has already been done, and well done, by 
the hand of filial afi'ection. I can say nothing new 
of the subject. But it is expected that on this occa- 
sion I should glance upon some of the prominent 
features of Mr. Quincy's character, and refer to some 
of the important acts of his life, not only for the 
information of the younger portion of our citizens, 
who came upon the stage of life after his ofiicial ca- 
reer had ended, and therefore had not the same op- 
portunities of knowing him as those who were about 
him ; but for the benefit of those to be found in every 
community — strange as it may seem — who, living 
near the age of distinguished men, have often little 
or no knowledge of their lives or actions. The ac- 
complished biographer of Mr. Quincy tells us in the 



26 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

preface to his most delightful book that he had met 
" well-educated persons who had never heard of 
Fisher Ames, and even gentlemen of the law whose 
notions of Samuel Dexter were nebulous to the last 
degree." 

Mr. Quincy inherited a name distinguished in 
several generations for the highest civic virtues, for 
patriotism, public spirit, love of liberty, respect for 
law, hatred of wrong, sympathy for suffering, and 
sacred regard for honor. His father — known in 
history as Josiah Quincy, Junior — was one of the 
organizers and brilliant orators of the Revolution. 
He was eminent, notwithstanding his early death at 
the age of thirty-three, among the great men who 
moulded public opinion and guided public action in 
those eventful days. Many of his great qualities 
were transmitted to his son. The youth of the 
latter was carefully trained by a wise and devoted 
mother, and he early felt the desire and recognized 
the duty of moral and mental cultivation " as the 
noblest of human pursuits." He showed his deep 
sense of the importance of this cultivation by upbraid- 
ing himself on one occasion, notwithstanding his 
great and conscientious industry in his studies, for 
not having done more, and resolving " to be more 
circumspect in future; to hoard his moments with 
more thrifty spirit; to listen less to the suggestions of 



ORATION. . 27 

indolence, and so quicken that spirit of intellectual 
improv^ement to which he devotes his life." 

The inscription upon the pedestal of the statue 
informs the spectator that Josiah Quincy was born 
in 1772 and died in 18G4; that he served the people as 
State Senator, as representative to the IS^ational Con- 
gress, as one of the judges, as Mayor of Boston, and 
as President of Harvard University. The record 
shows that in all these important capacities he acted 
well his part, and made the people his debtors. 

He seems to have had a Spartan conviction that 
his time, his talents, and all his services were due to 
the State; for, during his long life, — extended beyond 
his ninety-second birthday, — it may be said that he 
was constantly employed, either in official service or 
in illustrating by his pen political subjects, or subjects 
in which the public was interested. He did not allow 
himself rest even after he had attained the great age 
of eighty years, for he then commenced the composi- 
tion of his admirable life of that distinguished states- 
man and philosopher, John Quincy Adams. I may 
add in respect to his writings that he touched nothing 
which he did not adorn with a wealth of solid infor- 
mation and valuable and instructive reflection. It is 
remarkable that he retained his mental powers for so 
many years without showing evidence of decay or 
decrepitude. This is without doubt due to his tem- 



28 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

perance, his industry, his systematic habits, and his 
great love of work. 

In 1793 Mr. Quincy was admitted to the bar. He 
was then twenty-one years of age. The practico of 
the law does not seem to have been congenial to his 
tastes, for he did not continue long in it. In 1798 he 
was selected to deliver the Fourth-of-July oration at 
the town celebration of the anniversary of indepen- 
dence, and the reputation he obtained by it induced 
the Federalists to select him as their candidate 
for representative to Congress. He was then only 
twenty-eight years old, and his biographer observes 
that his age was considered so infantile that the 
Democratic papers called aloud for a -cradle in which 
to rock the Federal candidate. He was not success- 
ful at this election, although he had a majority of the 
votes of the town of Boston, then only a part of the 
first congressional district. 

In the spring of 1804 he was elected to the State 
Senate, and in K^ovember of the same year, having 
been again nominated by the Federalists as their can- 
didate, he was chosen representative to the ISTinth 
Congress. 

Mr. Quincy at once made the most diligent and 
thorough preparation for the discharge of his con- 
gressional duties, his studies embracing history and 
politics, especially that part of both subsequent to 



ORATION. 29 

the adoption of the federal constitution. Party 
spirit at this period was most intense and bitter. 
The FederaUsts were greatly in the minority in both 
branches of Congress; but they comprised many of 
the ablest and most eminent men of the country. 
Mr. Quincy took at once a prominent position among 
them, which he held during all the eight years he 
served in Congress. 

As we look at his public character, he appears to 
us as a successful oratoi\ an accomplished statesman, 
and an able magistrate. 

Let us consider him in these relations. His cult- 
ure, his classic learning, his stores of historical and 
political information, his earnest interest in what- 
ever engaged his attention, his zeal and enthusiasm, 
his manly form, full of grace, dignity, and power, 
must have made his oratory most impressive and 
effective. His forensic efforts did not, indeed, exhibit 
that rare and lofty eloquence which distinguished 
those great orators of ancient and modern times, who 
still stir the blood, after the occasion, the scene, and 
the cause have passed away; but his advocacy was so 
forcible, and marked by such sti'ength of reason and 
felicity of illustration, as to call forth not only the 
admiration of those who thought as he did concern- 
ing public aff^lirs, but of his political opponents. 



30 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

All the testimony shows that at times — indeed 
generally — his manner was earnest and impassioned 
to the highest degree. His language, when now 
read, shows it must have been so. His rhetoric was 
most fervid and glowing. He had a ready and spark- 
ling wit, a delicate and pleasing humor, and such 
capacity for sarcasm and invective as must have made 
him formidable when excited in debate. Yet he 
seems at all times, even in the " tempest and whirl- 
wind of passion," to have " a temperance," so as 
neither to impair the force of his argument nor give 
advantage to his opponent. He had the courage of 
his convictions most forcibly. He followed a pi-inci- 
ple wherever it led, whatever the consequences to his 
cause or himself; and always, perhaps unwisely at 
times, said what he thought. 

He often pressed the fight so sharply that appre- 
hension was sometimes felt by his friends for his per- 
sonal safety; but fear was not a part of his nature, 
and he always scorned the notion of danger, and 
rejected all advice to arm himself against attack. It 
was evident that whatever differences of opinion 
existed between Mr. Quincy and his political oppo- 
nents, and however greatly they have been irritated 
against him at times for language in debate, they 
respected his manly nature, the purity of his motives, 



ORATION. 31 

the honesty of his opinions, and his conscientious 
discharge of duty according to his convictions. 

He spoke on all the important questions which 
came before Congress, and always with the same 
earnestness and zeal. He could hardly do otherwise, 
for he felt intensely in respect to everything which, 
in his judgment, affected the interests, the safety, or 
the honor of the country. He was so organized that 
to follow his convictions was a necessity. Morally as- 
well as physically brave, to an extraordinary degree, 
he would not, because he could not, compromise a 
principle. He was 

" Too fond of the right to pursue the expedient." 

He felt, like Milton's angel, that 

"To be weak was miserable." 

Once, therefore, satisfied as to the course which duty 
required him to follow, .he followed it, wholly un- 
mindful of personal costs or consequences. 

I cannot forbear quoting his own words in this 
connection : " I mean to identify myself with no set 
of men. I shall do my duty openly, virtuously, and 
as intelligently as Heaven permits me. I shall not 
seek to please by any sacrifice of my real opinions. 
I shall not fear to offend any, if a just view of my 
country's interest obliges me to declare truths which 



32 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

will have that etfect. This course of conduct will not 
secure me place, — of which I am less than ever so- 
licitous, — but it will secure me that sense of right to 
personal honor, of which I am daily more and more 
solicitous." 

His distinguished father, when reproached for 
defending the British soldiers indicted for the 
Boston massacre, declared that he "never harbored 
the expectation, nor any great desire, that all men 
should speak well of him. To inquire my duty and 
to do it is my aim." 

Can any one doubt that the same blood flowed in 
the veins and animated the hearts of these two 
men? 

Mr. Quincy, in his early political life, clearly saw 
the dangers to the Republic from the institution of 
slavery; and unrestrained by considerations of per- 
sonal interest or advantage, and impelled alone by 
conscientious regard for duty, took every occasion to 
express his opinions in relation to it. Earnestly and 
with all his power he protested against every measure 
which seemed to him directed to its extension beyond 
its limits at the adoption of the Federal Constitution. 
These protests are marked by great vigor of lan- 
guage, and will be found to contain some of the best 
specimens of impassioned eloquence which American 
oratory can boast. Mr. Webster has said that the 



OPATION. 33 

speeches of Mr. Quincy in Congress were the best 
and ablest 'ever deh veered m that .body on the mflu- 
ence of slavery. 

It cannot be denied that Mr. Quincy possessed in 
an eminent degree the qualities of a statesman. 

From his first entrance into political life he com- 
prehended fully the many important questions which 
then occupied public attention, and understood clearly 
what the true interests of the country demanded. He 
saw with prophetic accuracy the future results of the 
foreign and domestic policy of the party in power, 
detected with equal clearness the troubles to come 
from that box of Pandora, — the slavery question, — 
and predicted the consequences which would follow 
any attempts to extend the institution into new 
Territories and States. 

We may dissent from many of his political views, 
and doubt the wisdom of many of the measures he 
advocated touching these great questions, without 
detracting from his claims to sagacity or discounting 
his title to statesmanship. It is to be remembered 
that the genius, spirit, and powers of the Federal 
Constitution were not then as well understood as 
now. The relations of the Federal Government and 
the States to each other, their mutual rights and 
obligations (not yet fully recognized and adjusted. 



34 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

but then less known than now), were the subjects of 
constant sectional discussion and controversy. 

The wild and radical speculations of the French 
Revolutionists touching government as a science, the 
rights of man, the social compact, and other ques- 
tions of metaphysical politics, had intoxicated the 
country with their delirious fumes, largely affected 
the sentiments and opinions of the people, and cre- 
ated party divisions of the most intense and hostile 
character. 

It is not strange that under these circumstances 
statesmanship should have been tainted with parti- 
sanship, and that the public men on both sides should 
have often viewed political measures from mere party 
stand-points, and not in that bi'oad and catholic spirit 
which patriotism required and the interests of the 
country demanded. 

The study of Mi\ Quincy's speeches in Congress, 
and the examination of liis votes, show that he was a 
most intense Federalist, firm in the faith that his 
party was always right and monopolized the largest 
share of the patriotism of the times. Notwithstand- 
ing, however, the fixedness of his political opinions, 
he was always open to the influence of reason, 
although, as with most men of strong convictions, it 
might be sometimes difficult to make him feel its 
force and recognize an error of judgment. But he 



ORATION. 35 

did not belong to that unyielding class, now so 
common, I regret to say, who exult that they are so 
organized as not to be open to conviction. There 
were occasions when Mr. Quincy saw that the ties of 
party should not bind him, and they were ignored. 
A notable instance of this occurred when he voted 
for the bill to increase the navy at the time war with 
England was imminent, notwithstanding the Feder- 
alists opposed the measure, and he knew he should 
incur the censure of his party for his independent 
action. 

In subsequent years, when Mr. Quincy acted with 
the Whigs, he ignored all party ties whatever, and 
allowed no party dictation to control his actions 
touching measures which, in his judgment, were 
repugnant to the honor and interests of the counti-y. 

Statesmanship is but common sense and common 
honesty applied to public affairs, but the greatest of 
these is honesty. On these two essentials hang all 
the law and gospel of statesmanship. He who 
recognizes the duties of government to the people, 
and the obligations and duties of nations to each 
other according to the dictates of justice and fair 
dealing, and has the courage to do what he knows 
to be right, is a statesma7i. 

He may not have the statecraft of a Machiavelli 
or a Richelieu or a Talleyrand or a Bismarck, but he 



36 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

will be better fitted to guide the ship of state, and 
accomplish the great ends of government, — the 
prosperity and happiness of the people. 

The principles which guided Mr. Quincy's political 
action and illustrated his statesmanship are well 
expressed in his oration at the celebration of the 
completion of the second century from the settlement 
of Boston. " What," says he, " are the elements of 
the liberty, prosperity, and safety, which the inhab- 
itants of ^N'ew England at this day enjoy? Those 
elements are simple, obvious, and familiar. Every 
civil and religious blessing of ISTew England, all that 
has given happiness to human life or security to 
human virtue, is alone to be perpetuated in the forms 
and under the auspices of a free Commonwealth. 
The Commonwealth itself has no other strength or 
hope than the intelligence and virtue of individuals 
who compose it. For the intelligence and virtue of 
individuals there is no other human assurance than 
laws providing for the education of the whole 
people. These laws themselves have no strength or 
efficient sanction except in the moral and accountable 
nature of man disclosed in the records of the Christian 
faith. The great comprehensive truths, written in 
letters of living light on every page of our history, 
the language addressed by every past age of N^ew 
England to all future ages, is this : ' Human happi- 



ORATION. 37 

ness has no perfect security but freedom; freedom 
none but virtue; virtue none but knowledge; and 
neither freedom nor virtue nor knowledge has any 
vigor or immortal hope except in the principles of 
the Christian faith, and in the sanctions of the 
Christian religion.' " 

Such sentiments are conclusive proof that he 
who uttered them was not only a statesman, but 
a Christian. 

As a magistrate and an executive officer Mr. 
Quincy's capacity was most conspicuous. 

When Boston first became a city, although opposed 
to the acceptance of a city charter, in the belief that 
the town organization was better suited to the char- 
acter and genius of the l^ew England people than 
the less democi-atic government of a civic corporation, 
the prominent citizens felt that he was best fitted to 
organize and administer the new form of govern- 
ment. He had already greatly interested himself in 
many matters of municipal concern, especially in 
those relating to the provision for the poor and the 
treatment of the vicious and criminal. In 1821, as 
chairman of a legislative committee charged with 
the consideration of these subjects, he had submitted 
a most exhaustive and instructive report thereon; 
and was soon afterward appointed chairman of a 



38 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

town committee on the same matter. Upon his 
recommendation provision had been made for a 
House of Industry, and a suitable building erected 
at South Boston on a tract of land bought for the 
purpose. As judge of the Municipal Court he had 
in his charges to the grand jury considered the 
treatment of criminals, and indicated the reforms 
which the civilization of the age and the welfare of 
society demanded. 

I may here observe that Mr. Quincy presided on 
the 28th of March, 1822, as the moderator of the last 
town meeting ever held by the inhabitants of Boston 
in Faneuil Hall. 

The nomination for mayor w^as tendered him by a 
large body of the citizens, irrespective of party; but 
both Federalists and Democrats saw fit to nominate 
candidates, and he wanted about one hundred votes 
for a majority. On a second trial he withdrew his 
name, and Mv. John Phillips was elected the first 
mayor of Boston. Upon the retirement of the latter, 
at the close of the year, Mr. Quincy was elected, 
almost without opposition, his successor. 

He was eminently fitted for the place; for he 
brought to the discharge of its duties grest powers 
of organization, great capacity for work, great in- 
dustry, remarkable directness and celerity of action, 
and excellent judgment. His love of labor and 



ORATION. 39 

i 

desire for improvement kept him constantly busy, 
and every municipal department felt his influence. 

Immediately upon entering upon the duties of his 
office he made himself chairman of all the aldermanic 
committees, and personally supervised and directed 
the various matters under their charge, doing gen- 
erally the largest part of the work. He introduced 
many salutary changes and important reforms, by 
which he promoted the comfort, increased the safety, 
and improved the beauty of the city. Without 
attempting any detailed account of his official work, 
I will merely say that under his administration pau- 
pers and criminals were separated and cared for; the 
House of Correction and the House of Reformation 
for juvenile off'enders established ; the police and fire 
departments reorganized; various improvements in- 
troduced into the public-school system, and the 
Faneuil Hall market-house erected. 

It seems to me proper to say here a few words 
touching the services of Mr. Quincy in respect to 
the establishment of this last-named most important 
civic institution. 

Without imposing the tax or the debt of a dollar 
upon the city, he filled the old Town Dock, so called; 
removed large numbers of old and worthless build- 
ings occupied by the lowest of the population, and 
constituting the Five Points of Boston; laid out 



40 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

anew the territory so as to make six new streets, 
besides greatly enlarging another; constructed ex- 
tensive docks and built a granite market-house, two 
stories high, five hundred and thirty-five feet long 
and fifty feet wide, covering twenty-seven thousand 
square feet of land. The lots made by filling the 
dock, and the improved value of the estates bought by 
the city to carry out the enterprise more than paid 
for its cost. Few can appreciate the extent and im- 
portance of this improvement who do not know the 
character and appearance of this part of the city 
before it was made. 

The scheme when first suggested was, of course, 
opposed, as all great public improvements usually 
are. The timid doubt success; the cautious fear 
expense; the conservative oppose change; the dema- 
gogue springs the rattle of misrepresentation and 
detraction, so that the people are embarrassed to dis- 
criminate between a wise and an unwise economy. 
Our city has had and is having many such experi- 
ences. 

The zeal and good management of Mr. Quincy 
surmounted every obstacle and overcame all opposi- 
tion. To him, and him alone, belongs the credit of 
this great woi-k. It may be said, and truly said, that 
if he had distinguished his administration by nothing 
else, this important structure, and the improvement of 



ORATION. 41 

the territory in its vicinity, would have alone made 
his name honorable to the citizens and justified the 
erection of this statue to his memory. But no 
monument is needed to perpetuate the remembrance 
of his services in this work. The work itself is his 
monument. We can point to it and say of him, as 
was said of the architect of St. Paul's : — 

" Si monvmentum reqniris, circumspice." 

But it was not merely because he improved the 
architecture of Boston, nor because he organized 
and established penal, reformatory, and eleemosynary 
institutions, that Mi*. Quincy is honored by a grateful 
city. He was most energetic in the enforcement of 
the laws, in the correction of abuses, in the protection 
of the rights of the city,, and in the introduction of 
systematic and economic methods in the transaction 
of municipal business. He loved Boston. He was 
proud of its history, of its Revolutionary record, of 
its devotion to the great principles of civil and 
religious liberty, and of the influence of its citizens 
in shaping the institutions of the country. He loved 
it "as an Athenian loved the city of the violet crown; 
as a Roman loved the Maxima rerum HomaP " In 
Boston," says he, " I was born. In Boston I have 
lived, and from Boston I choose to be buried." 

It is right that Boston should honor him. It is 



42 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

not too much to say that our city is to-day in a better 
condition — its pubUc institutions better, its name 
and reputation better, and its honor higher — because 
Josiah Quincy was mayor for six years. 

There were some improvements suggested by him 
which we all now regret were not made ; if they had 
been, the city would to-day be enjoying greater com- 
fort, convenience, health, and beauty. Mr. Quincy, 
in his policy, did not confine himself merely to the 
necessities of the present. He believed that Boston 
was destined to be a metropolis, and he wished to 
provide for the wants of such. There is no doubt 
that if some of his designs had been carried out we 
should have saved many of the millions we have 
been compelled to spend in widening streets and in 
other civic accommodations. We can yet entitle 
ourselves to the gratitude of the future by taking 
counsel of his wise foresight and his expanded views 
of municipal requirements. 

Public benefactors not unfrequently fail of appre- 
ciation in their lifetime. The reforms and improve- 
ments made by Mr. Quincy in the interest of good 
government aroused the opposition of some who 
were disturbed by them. This was to be expected. 

" No man e'er felt the halter draw, 
With good opinion of the law." 

As he said in his first inaugural, " In administer- 



ORATION. 43 

ing the police, in executing- the laws, in protecting 
the rights and promoting the prosperity of the city, 
its first officer will be necessarily beset and assailed 
by individual interests, by rival projects, by personal 
influences, by party passions. The more firm and 
inflexible he is in maintaining the rights and pursuing 
the interests of the city, the greater the probability 
of his becoming obnoxious to the censure of all 
whom he causes to be prosecuted or punished, of all 
whose passion he thwarts, of all whose interests he 
opposes." " 1^0 man," says he, on another occasion, 
" could do his duty in this office without being turned 
out of it." 

Mr. Quincy's prophecy proved true in his own 
case. He had been reelected five times. Misrepre- 
sentation and detraction organized a strong opposi- 
tion against him. At the next election he failed to 
receive a majority of the votes and withdrew from 
the contest, when Mr. Otis was elected to his place. 

I^o one to-day believes in the charges made against 
him by his opponents. N^o one doubts his adminis- 
trative ability, his sagacious judgment in the manage- 
ment of civic aftairs, his untainted honesty, and his 
spotless integrity. The charges and accusations of 
his enemies have dissipated through their utfer 
groundlessness. I once saw somewhere a picture 
representing some foolish archers shooting their 



44 STATUE OF JOSIAH QLTINCY. 

harmless arrows at the sun. Beneath the picture 
was written Solern nulla sagitta ferit: No arrow 
strikes the sun. It well illustrates the impotency of 
political slander. The arrows aimed at Mr. Quincy 
fell far short of their mark, and made no wound. 

Nothing shows more the manliness of Mr. Quincy's 
nature than his valedictory declaration, " that he re- 
tired from office with a consciousness weighed against 
which all human suffrages were but as the light dust 
of the balance." He seems, however, to have felt a 
moment's pain, as we can easily believe, that after so 
much time and labor expended in behalf of the citi- 
zens; after having accomplished so much for the 
lasting benefit of the city and for the promotion of its 
interests; after all his faithful, honest, and disinter- 
ested service, — he should have been thus requited. 
But doubtless he consoled himself with the philo- 
sophic reflection that other officials before him had 
been as badly treated, and others after him would 
share the same fate; that, if he was patient, time, 
which at last makes all things even, would permit 
party prejudice to subside, so that the record could 
be made up according to justice and truth. 

Upon the retirement of Mr. Quincy from the 

mayoralty, the friends and Fellows of Harvard 

College saw that his great administrative abilities 

eminently fitted him for the presidency of that insti- 

L.oFC. 



O R A T I O N. 45 

tutioii, which was then vacant. Its financial affairs 
were at that time greatly confused, and a practical 
man of business was needed to put them in proper 
condition . 

He was unanimously nominated by the corporation 
for the office, and the nomination was subsequently 
confirmed by the Board of Overseers. He held the 
place for sixteen years, and it is generally admitted 
that his administration was a great success. 

This occasion does not piermit me to point out the 
particular reforms he accomplished, nor the various 
improvements he introduced into that institution. To 
do so would require more time than would be proper 
for me to ask, or you to give. I will only say that 
they were many and important, and have resulted in 
lasting benefit to the college. 

President Walker, — Mr. Quincy's third successor, 
— whose official position gave him ample knowledge 
of what the latter had accomplished, says: "I have 
been led to review with some care his administration 
of the college, and the effect of it has been greatly to 
increase my sense of the obligation the college is 
under to him. Sixteen years of more devoted, unre- 
mitting, unwearied work in the service of a public 
institution were never spent by mortal man; and 
when we call to mind the state of things at the 
time of the appointment, it seems to me that he will 



46 STATUE OF JO SI AH QUINCY. 

be forever remembered as the great organizer of the 
university." 

Such was Josiah Quincy as orator, statesman, and 
magistrate. He was more than these; he was a true 
patriot and a Christian gentleman. To say this of 
any one is to say all that eulogy requires. 

The patriotism of Mr. Quincy was of the purest 
and most exalted character. During all his long and 
well-spent life his heart was full of care and solicitude 
for his country. He was ever concerned for the repu- 
tation, the honor, and the interests of the republic 
and its institutions. Whatever affected the cause of 
liberty, civil and religious, affected him. He would . 
have made any sacrifices demanded by patriotism, 
whatever the personal cost or consequence. If he 
had lived in the days which tried men's souls, he 
would have uttered the same revolutionary eloquence 
which distinguished his illustrious sire, and perhaps 
been found on the same battle-field where fell his 
father's friend, the immortal Warren. His heroic 
nature is well shown in his benedictive letter to his 
grandson on his departure for the war then waging 
for the presei'vation of the Union. I know nothing 
in modern language so touching and pathetic. It 
glows with all the patriotic spii'it of the Spartan 



ORATION. 47 

mother arming her son for the battle, refined by those 
humane sentiments which the cruel policy of that 
martial race so severely repressed, and sanctified by 
the tenderness natural to consanguinity. His ardent 
love of country, his recognition of the duties of the 
citizen in the great crisis, his pride in the patriotism 
of the young soldier who shared his blood and bore 
his honored name, and his tender affection for him, 
are all most feelingly and eloquently expressed, l^o 
one can doubt where Josiah Quincy would have been 
in the recent contest of the country for its life but 
for the- impeding weight of his great age. 

His patriotism led him to a firm belief in the ulti- 
mate success of the Union cause. He never doubted 
from the first that the integrity of the government 
would be maintained. This assurance was not born 
of Jiope, the sentiment of the weak; it was the child 
of fait /f, which is the conviction of the strong. He 
could not believe, he would not believe, that this 
great country, with its free government, the best 
adapted for the promotion of human happiness which 
ingenuity has ever devised, or the world ever seen, 
the hope of the oppressed of all nations, could be 
broken up and destroyed. He died before the flag 
of secession went down; but he closed his eyes as 
well assured of what the end would be as though he 



48 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

heard the shouts of our victorious columns on the 
surrender at Appomattox Court-House. 

We owe to Mr. Quincy infinite gratitude for the 
instructive example he has given the world of the 
usefulness of old age, and of the unwisdom of grow- 
ing old. Most men think that when " the way of life 
is fallen into the sere, the yellow leaf," the season 
and duty of work is over, that they must then hiber- 
nate like the irrational animals, ^ot so thought Mr. 
Quincy. He kept his intellectual faculties bright 
by their constant use, and retained to the last his 
interest in all the matters and things which had occu-' 
pied his attention through life, especially in those 
which concerned the country. He felt it a duty not 
to grow old before it was necessary, and that time in 
his judgment never comes until the capacity for 
useful action is gone. He was ever engaged in some 
intellectual occupation, and as fast as one work was 
completed, another was undertaken. He recognized 
the obligation to men in the Hebrew poem — 

" They shall bring forth fruit in old age." 

" There is no period of a man's life," says a witty 
and distinguished divine, " in which he has a right to 
put himself on the shelf ; there are but two persons 
who have the right to lay you aside, — your doctor 



ORATION. 49 

and the sexton. Every man owes to himself and to 
his kind, as an example that is influential upon the 
young, the continued exertion of his ripe powers to 
the very end of life." So thought Mr. Quincy, and 
so thinking he acted ; and so should all men think and 
act when they remember what capacity for thought 
aud action has been implanted within them by the 
Divine Creator, and the sin of permitting this capacity 
to 

— -"fust in us xinused." 

The City of Boston has erected statues to com- 
memorate those who have had more genius, a broader 
intellect, a larger culture; and who attained a loftier 
niche in the temple of fame than he whom we honor 
to-day? Here at our side is the monument of Frank- 
lin; not far off stand those of Everett, Webster, and, 
the greatest of this triumvirate, Hamiltoii ; the mag- 
niflcent statue of the peerless Washington is the ad- 
miration of all who enter the Public Garden; but I 
venture the assertion that none of these has made a 
more faithful use of such talents as God gave him, 
recognized more conscientiously the obligations of 
duty, or left a more spotless name. His honor is 
without stain. His record will be vainly searched for 
any coarse, vulgar, or dishonest act. His life exhibits 
the simple virtues, the plain, upright bearing and 
conduct of om who feared God, and God only; of 



50 STATUE OF JOSIAH QUINCY. 

one who possessed that most.vahiable of all posses- 
sions, — HelfWespect. 

At the great age of ninety-two years, surrounded 
by all 

— " wliic'h should accompany old age, 
As honor, love, obedience — troops of friends," 

he died. 

The city has wisely erected this monument to com- 
memorate her benefactor. The spot is well chosen. 
It not only stands in a ^^ public place," in accordance 
with the testamentary direction of Mr. Phillips, but 
beside the statue of Franklin, the friend of both the 
father and grandfather of our distinguished mayor. 
If we could believe that bronze might feel and speak, 
what welcome would the great philosopher, patriot, 
and statesman, give his companion as he mounts his 
pedestal! With what interest would the two review 
the eventful past, and how would they exult and con- 
gratulate each other that our terrible civil war was at 
last ended; the States no longer " dissevered, discord- 
ant, belligerent-" the flag everywhere respected, and 
the country commencing a new career of prosperity 
and glory! 

May this image of our great and good magistrate 
not only adorn and embellish Boston, but insph-e 
those who shall be called to execute the civic trusts 



ORATION. 51 

he administered so well, to imitate his official probity, 
fidelity, and zeal, that the prosperity of onr beloved 
city may be advanced, and its honor maintained in 
the coming centuries. 



JUN 26 1903 






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